


Domesticity is New but Not Unwelcome

by AnnaBananaOops



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Domestic Avengers, Domestic Fluff, Fluff, Precious Peter Parker, Protective Pepper Potts, Protective Tony Stark
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-23
Updated: 2020-12-07
Packaged: 2021-03-09 02:34:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,183
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27146717
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AnnaBananaOops/pseuds/AnnaBananaOops
Summary: One-shots of Peter and the Avengers and Co. Was originally set in a series universe, but now just sort of random things I come up with (now that I'm completely changing my other part in my series).Hope you enjoy! :))
Relationships: Happy Hogan & Peter Parker, Peter Parker & James "Rhodey" Rhodes, Peter Parker & Pepper Potts, Peter Parker & Tony Stark
Kudos: 14





	1. Oobleck

**Oobleck**

“WHAT are you boys DOING?” Tony and Peter’s laughter cuts off as they whirl around, eyes wide, both attempting to stutter out some form of explanation for the _very_ angry Pepper Potts in the doorway. 

The easy answer: laughing at the mess they made. But will that work on Pepper Potts? No. 

“Pep, honey, I’m so glad you’re home! Pete and I were thinking sushi for dinner. The cooked kind, you know I can’t handle the raw kind anymore after the last trip we took to Tokyo. I mean, really, who decided it was a good idea to get sushi from a _gas station_ in a foreign country—” 

“First of all Anthony, you decided to get gas station sushi. I told you not to and you waved me off and told me to stop worrying. So that’s on you. I’m not going to hold your hand and keep you from getting food poisoning, you’re a big boy, you should know better by now. Now, I will only ask one more time: What are you boys doing?” Peter and Tony gulped in sync as her voice quieted, until Tony struggled to hear her and Peter heard every angry word clearly. They glance at each other and have a silent conversation. It looks like Tony wins, as Peter fake-confidently steps forwards. 

“Well Miss Pepper, me and Tony made this thing called Oobleck? I had never heard of it and apparently it’s a ‘rite-of-passage’ for young chemists and science nerds, but I’d never done it, so Mr. Stark said we _had_ to make it together! It was so fun Miss Pepper, even if we did kinda sorta make a mess? But oobleck is this stuff made of cornstarch and water Miss Pepper, that’s _it_ , but it’s this weird combination of solid and liquid! Not like a liquid with solid in it, that’d be weird, but I can’t tell if I would call it solid or liquid, it’s so cool! Mr. Stark and I even added coloring to it, so now we have some green and some blue and some pink and all these other colors!” Pepper’s tense expressions softened with each run-on sentence flowing out of Peter’s mouth. By the time he’s raving about the colors and what they do when they mix and how he wants to try and see if he can tie-dye them, she’s struggling to hold back a smile. 

As much as Pepper wants to let him ramble on, she can already see DUM-E rolling closer to a huge glob on the floor...right next to a puddle sliding down the wall...which is from the corner of the ceiling where a thick layer is seemingly pasted onto the wall. Shaking her head fondly at the boy, she says, “Well Peter, I had never heard of oobleck before today either. Is it easy to clean up?” 

Nodding, Peter says, “Yes Miss Potts! It should be, anyways. As long as it doesn’t touch any of the machinery—” As he says this, DUM-E rolls right into the oobleck on the floor of the lab. Tony and Peter both sigh, knowing that won’t be fun to clean up. Peter hurries over to his friend, picking DUM-E up and carrying him to a clean part of the lab, whispering under his breath that DUM-E will be clean soon, no worries buddy. 

Tony sighs again as he looks at Pepper. Pepper Potts, fiercest business-woman and CEO in the world, is so soft for this teen boy. Tony just _knows_ who is cleaning up DUM-E tonight. 

“Well Peter, now that DUM-E is safely out of the way, how about you and I go upstairs? We can look at some sushi menus and get some delivered for the three of us while Tony cleans up the lab.” Pepper’s smile is evident in her words, and Peter bounds over to her, already telling her his favorite place to get sushi from. “—and I know it’s in Queens, so maybe you want some sooner than they’ll get here, but I can swing over and pick it up and get it here quickly if you want, and it won’t be super expensive sushi, I’ve never had expensive sushi but that’s probably what you want, isn’t it? That’s cool too, we can find somewhere better if you want, I’m not too picky, but I do need a lot to eat—which you already know! Sorry! But if you want expensive sushi, I can have some cheaper ones so you’re not spending as much on me if you’d prefer—” 

Pepper cuts the boy off, telling him that nothing has to be cheap when Tony’s footing the bill, since he’s a billionaire and all. Said billionaire sighs again, smiling at two of his favorite people in the world, watching the pair walk towards the door. Peter cranes his neck around, carefully so he doesn’t dislodge Pepper’s arm around his shoulders. 

“You sure you don’t want some help, Mr. Stark? I don’t mind!” Peter always feels bad leaving Mr. Stark to clean up their messes, but Pepper never gives him the option. 

“No way kid, go hang out with my fiance and I’ll get everything down here cleaned up. Maybe after dinner, we can convince Pepper to help us make sensory bottles for the kids in your building.” Tony sees the moment Peter’s excitement ratchets up even more ( _how does it always expand? Does he never get tired?_ ) and Peter excitedly begins telling Pepper about the kids down the hall from he and May’s apartment who don’t have many toys, “—and me and May can’t exactly buy them a bunch of toys but I like making crafts for them and Mr. Stark’s never made sensory bottles before, it’s something my Uncle Ben showed me years ago, I think it’d be a lot of fun—”. 

  
The two walk out of the lab and up the stairs, their voices fading as they go. Tony looks around his messy lab again, and shakes his head. He should’ve known he’d be on cleanup duty. DUM-E beeps from his corner, not moving from where Peter placed him. Tony laughs and says, “Yeah yeah kiddo, I’m coming.” As he grabs a rag from a cabinet, he thinks of his family upstairs, figuring out dinner and what they want to do together afterwards. The former-playboy never thought he’d have this: domesticity. A domestic family life with his soon-to-be wife, a wide-eyed genius kid from Queens, the kid’s hot aunt, Tony’s old bodyguard, and his best friend from MIT. His brain mentally fills in the rest of his family (a Deaf ex-circus performer, his old assassin buddy, a super soldier, a literal god, a science bro who’s missing off the face of the earth) and stops himself from filling in anymore. He’s happy right now and doesn’t want to ruin it. He heads over to DUM-E and begins cleaning, knowing his smile is brighter and more real than the press has ever seen, and loving every minute of it. 


	2. Chapter 2: Making Happy Happy

**Making Happy Happy**

Peter’s aunt is notorious for being a horrible cook. She tries her best, but she just can’t get anything to come out right. The last three months of every year, the Parker household smells exclusively like ~~_charred_~~ burnt food. May claims the holidays are for baking special holiday treats, but she always forgets to take them out of the oven. The duo invest in a LOT of Febreze to get rid of the smell (Peter still smells it under the Febreze, but he doesn’t tell his Aunt). 

When Aunt May was promoted a few days after Halloween, she knew that she’d be working more hours, and Peter finds himself (somehow) missing that familiar smell of burnt food in his apartment. They haven’t had time to bake since Halloween, and he misses it. Not that he’d tell his Aunt that, because then she’d find more time in her already busy enough schedule for him just to fail at baking something for him. He didn’t want to stress her anymore than she already is, so he acts like there’s no reason to bake anything and heads out of the house. 

He climbs into the backseat of the car, greeting Happy as he shuts the door, and finds himself thinking once more of baked goods. His stomach grumbles, loud enough for Happy to hear. 

“You been skipping out on meals again, kid?” Happy asks, shooting Peter a look in the rearview mirror that Peter does  _ not _ like. “Boss man won’t be happy about that.” Rolling his eyes a little at Happy (once Happy was focused back to the road instead of on Peter), Peter sighs a little bit. 

“I’ve been eating.” Happy glances back again, concerned. Peter never stops talking, yet here he is, quietly looking out the window, even though traffic isn’t moving and there’s nothing exciting to see outside. Twenty minutes later, as they creep through traffic, Peter gathers the courage to ask, “Do you ever bake during the holidays, Happy?” 

“Course I do, kid. Doesn’t everyone?” Happy honks at the cars ahead of him, although Peter can’t figure out why Happy ever honks. It doesn’t really solve the traffic problem, does it? 

“Aunt May’s been working too much lately. We haven’t been able to bake anything, and I dunno, I miss it, I guess. I just don’t want to bother her, she’s been so busy. Did I tell you she got promoted? She’s got more hours, but she’s loving the work she’s doing!” 

“Yeah kid, you told me the other day. Tell her congrats from me, would you?” Peter’s eyebrows raise, but he nods and chirps, “Will do, Happy!” 

Happy can see that the kid’s a little more energetic, but still more subdued than normal.  _ Guess I gotta talk to Tony and Pep.  _

When he pulls into the garage in the bottom of the Tower, he unbuckles his seatbelt along with Peter. Usually he just says his goodbyes, waits for Peter to get in the elevator, and then calls the elevator back down once Peter makes it upstairs. Today, he gets into the elevator with him and says, “You wanna make a pitstop and see my office?” Predictably, Peter’s eyes go wide, and he nods frantically. Swallowing down a chuckle so the kid doesn’t realize how funny Happy thinks he is, he nods and tells him he has to be quiet. “No disturbing any employees, alright?” 

“Okie dokie, Happy! Thanks for showing me. I’ve always wondered how the rest of the floors look, Mr. Stark only showed me the top floors where I always go. I’ve been really curious to see the rest of the building. Do you think I could, I don’t know, take a tour sometime when one comes through? I know they’re super expensive but I think it’d be awesome to see everything!” 

Chuckling at the kid, Happy says, “If you want a tour so bad, how about I get one organized for this weekend? You can bring your nerd friends from school and I’ll show you around.”  _ How can the kid’s eyes even  _ get _ that wide?  _

“That would be AWESOME, Happy! Thank you!” Happy loves the happiness he sees in Peter’s eyes now, and the excitement he’s trying to tamp down so he doesn’t reach for his phone right then and there. The elevator opens, and both of them step out. Peter follows Happy past cubicles full of well-dressed workers, all answering phones or typing on the computer or talking with each other over thick folders of papers. Happy leads Peter towards the end of the hall. Two offices face each other. Both are made of glass, with glass windows facing the corridor and outside of the building. Peter sees the one on the right is dark with no one inside, but the other one has someone at a large desk, working hard. Trying not to stare, Peter looks in the unoccupied one, grinning as Happy opens the door. 

“Welcome back, Forehead of Security.” FRIDAY’s voice greets Happy as he enters. “Hello, Peter. How was school?” 

“School was great, FRIDAY! Did Mr. Stark finally update you so you’d ask more personal questions?” Mr. Stark had been talking about that forever. Peter finally cracked and tentatively wrote some code with Ned’s help, and not-so-subtly left his notes open in Tony’s lab one night when he left. Maybe Mr. Stark even used some of Peter’s code! He’d have to ask. 

“Yes Peter, Mr. Stark wished to make residents in the building feel more comfortable with me.”  _ So cool _ , Peter thinks. 

“Go ahead and look around, kid. Just don’t break anything. If you do, you’re replacing it, go it?” Peter nods his affirmative, and Happy steps out. He crosses the hall, knocks on a window, and enters the office. 

“Hey Happy, is that Peter? It’s so nice you brought him up here!” Pepper is pleased as ever when she catches sight of Peter across the hall. 

“Yeah, wanted a word. Well, a couple actually. You got a minute?” Happy asks. Pepper closes her laptop and nods, gesturing Happy over to the sofa. The pair fix their coffee, then Pepper relaxes next to her friend, and says with a smile, “What can I do for you, Hap?” 

“Kid hasn’t seen any of the building but the garage and the penthouse. Can he and his friends tour the building this weekend?” Happy asks. He knows Pepper’s shocked because  _ this weekend, really?  _ but he plows on. “Kid was talking about paying to go on tour sometime. As if the kid doesn’t live in the building half the time when May isn’t home. He’s so excited too, I can’t just tell him no, you know?” Pepper most definitely knew. She rarely tells Peter no, and only when she feels something is too dangerous for him, like  _ bungee jumping in the Maldives, Tony, absolutely not, I don’t care about his enhancements, he’s a child, it’s not happening! _

“Of course, Happy. I know Alexander and Marisol are both off for the weekend, but I’m sure another intern won’t mind taking them around—” 

“Actually, I thought I could take them around. You and Tony have meetings all weekend, but I’m available. And the kids know me and won’t be nervous. Kid’s friend Ned only calls Tony ‘THE Iron Man’ and the kid’s other friend MJ has done at least three essays this year alone on how you’re changing the world everyday and paving the way for a brighter future for women. They just call me ‘The Driver’, so no worries about hero-worship there.” Happy acts disgruntled, but he’d much rather be called a driver than ‘Tin-Can’ like the Bossman’s called sometimes. 

Pepper’s surprised eyes twinkle as she tells him that’s a lovely idea. They quickly hash out details of when this weekend, so hopefully the tour will be done around the time Tony and Pepper make it back to the penthouse. “Let them know they’re welcome to stay for dinner, Peter’s already planning on staying the weekend. They can even spend the night if they want.” 

Happy thanks her, then hesitates. “There’s something else.” 

Pepper rarely sees hesitance in Happy. He doesn’t shy away from asking for what he wants, so she’s not sure what could be the problem. “Yes?” 

“The kid’s Aunt is working a lot lately. He’s bummed they haven’t done any holiday baking.” Pepper smiles and nods, knowing what Happy wants. 

Two minutes later, Pepper and Happy walk out of her office and across the hall, where Peter is standing in front of Happy’s fish tank and making faces at the fish. He turns and smiles, saying, “Hey Miss Pepper! I didn’t realize you were across the hall or I would’ve said hi! Unless you were busy, then I wouldn’t have bothered you.” 

“Hi sweetheart. I’m always busy, but never too busy for you. What do you say we go up to the penthouse, hmm? Happy’s got some work to do, but I’m free the rest of the night.” That was a lie, she had so much work to do before tomorrow’s meetings, but she could always stay up late and force Tony to help her finish everything. She wanted to spend time with her boy. 

Peter’s face lit up. “Yeah! Let’s go!” He scoops his bag off the floor, shooting Happy a grin and a wave, and bounds over to Pepper so she can wrap an arm around his shoulders. Her heels click against the floor, almost drowning out the sound of Happy saying goodbye. The duo make their way to the elevator and head upstairs. 

“Go ahead and put your things away in your room. I’m going to go get Tony real quick.” Peter drops his bag off in his room and says hello to his Venus Fly Trap, Marvin, and gives him water. When he’s done cooing over his little plant in the windowsill, he heads back out to the kitchen area, stopping as he sees Mr. Stark and Miss Pepper holding each other close and giggling about something. Peter used to catch Aunt May and Uncle Ben all the time hugging each other and sharing I Love You’s. He’d always felt awkward as a child, knowing he was intruding, and he felt the same way now, watching Mr. Stark tuck Pepper’s hair behind her ear and tell her she’s beautiful. Peter’s enhanced hearing sucked sometimes, when he would hear private conversations and be unable to tune them out. He turns to head back to his room for a few minutes, enough time for them to expect him, but before he can, Mr. Stark is calling his name. 

“Hey kiddo, where you going? We’re waiting for you, come on, daylight’s a-wasting.” Mr. Stark’s voice is almost drowned out by the sounds of pans clanking together as Miss Pepper grabs a few out of the cupboards and sets them on the counter. Peter heads into the kitchen, greeting Mr. Stark as he goes, and helps Miss Pepper grab what she was looking for. 

“What’s all this for?” Peter asks, eyeing the mixer, bowls, measuring spoons, and various ingredients laid out across the counter. 

“I thought we could do some baking. I’ve been wanting to make some sugar cookies in Thanksgiving shapes, and maybe we can roast some pumpkin seeds. What do you think, Pete?” Pepper says all this lightly, not wanting him to feel pressured, and Peter lights up. “That sounds great!” A thought hits him. “Did...Did Happy tell you I want to bake? Because I didn’t mean that you guys have to bake with me, I was just a little down that May and I haven't been baking much, and I didn’t mean to drag you away from work for something little like this—” Tony cuts him off by saying, “Ah ah ah, you know I never do anything I don’t want to do. Do you think Pepper ever does either? She runs the world, she never does anything unless she wants to.” With a bit more reassurance from the couple, Peter relaxes, telling Miss Pepper that sugar cookies and pumpkin seeds sound great. 

Peter pauses. “Actually, do either of you know a good recipe for Ginger and Molasses cookies?” 

  
  


_ Later _

“FRIDAY, can you take me down to where Happy is?” Peter asks after stepping into the elevator. 

“Of course, Peter.” The elevator whooshes downwards gently, and Peter’s heart beats a little faster. What if he made a mistake? Maybe he got the cookies wrong. Or maybe they don’t taste good and Peter likes them but Happy’s going to hate them and oh gosh what did he do—? 

Luckily for Peter’s whirlwind thoughts, the elevator stops and opens onto a different floor than before. He gulps, worried because he’s never been here before and honestly thought he’d be going to Happy’s office again. He steps out of the elevator so a few employees can enter the elevator, shooting them smiles as they take in his nervous glance around the floor. Peter’s shoulder hunch as he looks around, hoping desperately for Happy to appear so Peter can  _ get out of there _ . 

With an ‘oof’, Peter turns to apologize to whoever he ran into while he wasn’t paying attention. “I’m so sorry! Are you alright?” The security guard blinks down at Peter before asking, “Are you on the right floor, kid?” 

Nervously, Peter nods, saying, “I’m looking for Happy. Happy Hogan. The head of Security. The elevator brought me here, do you know where he is by any chance?” His voice squeaks halfway through and continues until the end. By the raised eyebrow, Peter guesses the security guard is not impressed. 

“Yes I do. Follow me.” Peter scrambles to follow him. He wonders for a moment why the guard didn’t ask him anything else (like  _ why is a child waltzing through the building like it’s nothing _ ) but he figures FRIDAY wouldn’t have let him out of the elevator if he shouldn’t be there and the guard would figure the same thing. Shaking his head against the thoughts, he follows closely behind the man, twisting and turning through the many halls until stopping at a door. The walls are all made of glass, but dark, like tinted windows. Peter thanks the man, who nods and walks away. Peter opens the door and immediately regrets it. A dozen or more security guards stand inside, obviously in some sort of meeting, and Peter’s embarrassed, thinking the guard led him somewhere just to get him in trouble  _ and _ lost. But as he opens his mouth to apologize for interrupting, he hears, “Peter? What are you doing?” 

Happy walks around the group of guards, who all look around at one another. Swallowing, still embarrassed and now very nervous, Peter attempts to smile. “Hey Happy! I’m so sorry to interrupt, I asked FRIDAY to take me to you and I figured that meant your office but she brought me to this floor and then I asked someone where you were and they brought me here which was really nice of them but I wish he had told me you were in a meeting, I wouldn’t have bothered you if I had known—” 

“Kid!” Happy’s insistent voice, right in front of Peter’s face, breaks Peter out of his rambling. “Yeah?” 

“What do you need, kid? Are you okay?” Peter lets out a breath. 

“I’m fine! Really, I am. I was bringing something to you but it can wait—”

“Kid, may as well spit it out. Did you break something in the building? Be honest, because you won’t be in any trouble—” 

“Here!” Peter thrusts the bowl he’s been carrying into Happy’s outstretched hands. Happy grabs onto it, then cautiously asks, “What is it?” 

Quietly (nervously), Peter says, “Uh they’re Ginger and Molasses cookies. You told me once that your grandma used to make them, and I know you said you miss them and haven’t had them in a long time, and you told Miss Pepper that I wanted to bake, so I thought I’d do something nice for you. I don’t know if you’re going to like them, we used a recipe offline, so they aren’t going to be the same as your grandma’s but we tried and—” 

Happy cuts Peter off by lightly pushing him out the door. “I’ll see you gentlemen tomorrow.” Happy leads Peter back to the elevator. Peter’s worried he’s done something wrong and goes to apologize, but Happy cuts him off. “Kid, you’re fine. But I’d rather eat my cookies upstairs with you and the Bosses than in a room of newbie guards who can’t even find their own nose with a map. Come one, I’ll show you how to make my grandma’s cocoa and we can find a movie. You can even pick, just please, for the love of all things I hold dear, do not choose Star Wars  _ again _ , I’m sick of Star Wars.” 

As Peter argues that no one can ever get sick of Star Wars, the elevator takes them to the penthouse, where they step out, make hot cocoa, and take it into the living room to share with Tony and Pepper. Happy does not tear up eating the cookies, knowing that Peter made them just to make Happy happy. He also doesn’t tear up when Peter suggests they watch Paul Blart: Mall Cop, knowing it’s one of Happy’s favorite movies even though he acts like he hates it. 

And Happy definitely doesn’t tear up when Peter, worn out from his fun evening, falls asleep with his head on Happy’s shoulder, warm and content and relaxed knowing he’s safe with his family. Nope, no tears at all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my gosh! I got a kudos on chapter one! Before I even posted chapter two! Wow, I'm glad someone liked it a lil bit :))) 
> 
> You can leave suggestions in the comments 👀 if you want! 
> 
> Anyways, I hope anyone reading this enjoys these at least a little bit. Kudos and comments are what keep me motivated ;)))


	3. Chapter 3: Rhodey to the Rescue

**Rhodey to the Rescue**

With a sigh, Peter swings through the city, ignoring the fact that he hasn’t done a single useful thing in over an  _ hour _ of patrol. Yeah, Mr. Stark had told him he wasn’t allowed to patrol today, but Peter had been bored. Bored and alone in the penthouse of the Tower, knowing that Mr. Stark and Miss Pepper were both busy until later that night. 

Peter went to the Tower early that morning. Mr. Stark had promised to let him tinker with some of his old gauntlets, but an emergency meeting about the Accords pulled Mr. Stark away for the day. He promised to be back before Peter went to bed, but Peter didn’t mind; he was cool with staying alone  _ seriously Mr. Stark, I’ll be fine, I’ll just start my weekend homework and watch a really old movie, like  _ Legally Blonde _ or something.  _

Convinced that Peter would be fine, Mr. Stark went to leave. He paused, considering Peter, then said, “No patrolling today, Underoos. Ross is in the city and I am not giving him a chance to nab you. Not while I can’t keep tabs on you.” He left without letting Peter argue, knowing he’d either cave and let Peter patrol, or he’d tell him no and get angry with Peter  ~~_ he doesn’t want to be like Howard _ ~~ ~~.~~

Peter, thinking Mr. Stark wouldn’t know, decided to patrool anyway. And now here is, just as bored as he was in the Tower, except now he’s in a spandex suit that is sticking to his entire body because of the rain. He can barely  _ see _ let alone help someone in need. Looks like the rain took care of the baddies for him. He sighs, knowing he should get back to the Tower and think of a reason his suit is soaking wet. As he swings, he zones out. He can still see and hear everything, and knows he won’t miss someone in trouble, but he doesn’t care too much about thinking about swinging. It’s one of his favorite feelings in the world, he doesn’t need to think too much about it. 

About to swing around a corner, Peter shoots off another web. Actually, he tries, but none of his web fluid comes out. With a gasp, Peter looks at his wrist instead of shooting off a web with his other web shooter. His body hits the corner of the apartment complex in front of him, curling in on himself as he free falls, his sticky hands only grasping the building a foot off the ground. He steps onto the dirty ground of the alley, feeling an ache stretching across his body from his chest to his knees. 

He groans, left arm coming to rest on his chest as he examines his right web shooter. He grunts in disgust, seeing the build up of his web fluid coating the inside of his web shooter. The fluid wouldn’t come out because it was too built up. 

“Peter, three of your ribs appear to be broken or fractured due to the force with which you hit the building. I will need to contact one of the Avengers and inform them of your injury. Wait and let me get a hold of one of them.” Karen’s voice has Peter’s eyes widening. He knows the only Avengers around right now are Mr. Stark and Vision. Mr. Stark is busy, and he always says he’s unavailable during Accords meetings. Vision, while helpful anytime Peter needs him, is all the way at the Compound. Peter didn’t want to force him all the way into the city for a couple ribs. 

He also just didn’t want to wait that long. His body  _ ached _ and he was soaking wet and just wanted to take a shower and go to bed. But  _ no _ , he’s stuck in the rain in a smelly alley. 

Peter let Karen do her thing, knowing someone would be there eventually, and he could rest until then. It was hard to rest in the pouring rain, but he did his best to breathe evenly, knowing his breathing was labored because of the (probably) broken ribs, and he really just wanted to ignore everything. 

As he settles against the wall, he faintly hears... _ is that the Iron Man suit? Oh no, I’m not supposed to be out right now! He’s gonna be so mad, _ Peter’s thoughts are going crazy, but as he steels himself to face an angry Iron Man, he’s instead met with—

“Rhodey!” War Machine ( _ Iron Patriot, whatever) _ is approaching Peter, slowing to a stop and stepping in front of him. The suit opens and Rhodey steps out, knee braces whirring quietly, even to Peter’s ears, and he crouches in front of Peter. 

“Kid, you alright? Heard you got a couple broken ribs.” Rhodey’s frown is bigger than Peter would like, so he says, “Yeah, that wall over there dared me to a duel. You know I can’t turn down a dare” because he knows it will make Rhodey laugh. 

Laughing at the kid, Rhodey shakes his head and helps Peter up, Peter wincing at the ache he feels across the front of his body. He slumps against Rhodey, who pulls him halfway into a hug. “Yeah kid, I know. Broken ribs suck. Come on, I’ll get you back to the Tower.” Rhodey steps back into the War Machine suit and scoops Peter up. Peter, knowing Rhodey won’t budge on carrying Peter, sighs inwardly and lets it happen. 

War Machine takes off, flying quickly towards the Tower, as Peter shivers and winces as subtly as he can in Rhodey’s arms. Peter’s waiting until they’re back in the (warm, dry) Tower to explain what really happened, and he’s waiting to ask Rhodey when he got back in town. Judging by how tired Rhodey looked, he’s guessing he only just got back. Miss Pepper and Rhodey were both so great at not letting jetlag get the best of them, but Peter supposes he’s just never seen either one as soon as they got off the plane. 

War Machine lands inside the living room once FRIDAY opens the windows, and he lets Peter out of his arms to stand in front of him. The suit opens up and Rhodey steps out, stifling a yawn and ignoring how much he wants to go to bed. “Go get changed out of the suit into something warm. We’ll deal with the ribs once you’re done, if you can handle the wait.” Peter nods and slowly shuffles to his room. 

“Just so you are aware Colonel Rhodes, Mr. Stark explicitly told Peter not to go out in his suit while the Boss was busy.” FRIDAY would never call herself a snitch, but she is loyal to her creator, and felt the need (as much as an AI could feel one) to tell Rhodey what Peter probably wouldn’t. 

“Of course the kid wasn’t supposed to be out.” Rhodey chuckles, knowing Tony wouldn’t be happy but also probably wouldn’t punish the kid. 

Peter walks out of his room, not as slow or hunched inwards as he had been, but still tenderly, trying to avoid hurting himself anymore. In his t-shirt and sleep pants, the bruising wasn’t obvious, but Rhodey knew the kid’s chest was not going to be pretty.

They iced Peter’s ribs. His healing factor was taking care of the pain and the bruising, but the broken ( _ fractured, not broken _ , supplied FRIDAY after a scan) bones would take a little longer to heal. “Maybe just long enough for you to explain why you went out when Tones said not to?” Peter’s sheepish smile brought a smile to Rhodey’s face, but he tried to tamp it down. “Go ahead whenever you’re ready, I’ve got all the time in the world.” He doesn’t but he’s got enough time for Peter. He’s always got enough time for Peter. 

“Short answer or long?” Peter asks, and Rhodey, knowing how the kid never stops talking, says short. 

Peter explains his boredom and how he knows that’s not a good enough excuse “—but really there is no excuse for defying Mr. Stark, is there? Other than like, world-ending important reasons, but this wasn’t, and I know that, but Mr. Stark isn’t gonna like it—” 

Rhodey, after at least six and a half minutes of Peter’s explanation ( _ this is the short one?) _ , stops him with a hand. “Okay Peter. First of all, I’m glad you realize that you disobeyed Tony and don’t have a good enough reason for it. It’s good that you understand you made a mistake. Second, I’m gonna have to disagree with you. There are a thousand reasons to disobey Tones, and one of those is most definitely “because I was bored”. Let me go ahead and give you another reason: “I just got back in town and Tony wasn’t here to say hello, so now I can break one of his rules”. What do you think? Good enough reason for  _ me  _ to disobey him?” Rhodey loves the laugh he pulls out of the kid (who only winces a little bit, thank goodness the ribs are healing), and Peter asks how he’s going to disobey Mr. Stark. 

“Well kid, Tony once told me I couldn’t watch Mean Girls without him. How about we watch it right now, and I won’t tell Tony where you went today, hmm?” Rhodey grins as Peter shouts a yes, asking if they can make popcorn and have hot chocolate and “—Rhodey you can’t just  _ not have popcorn with Mean Girls _ , it’s not  _ right _ —”. The two snuggle up on the couch, carefully avoiding Peter’s fading bruises, and watch the movie together. 

Tony makes it back to the penthouse in time to see Rhodey, poor jetlagged Rhodey, nodding off while he cuddles a snoring Peter. Holding back laughter, Tony takes a photo and sends it to Pepper. He pockets his phone and picks up the mugs and bowls off the coffee table and takes them to the kitchen. By the time he’s done, Rhodey’s eyes have opened all the way and he glances over at Tony. “Hey Tones.” 

“Hey Sugar Plum. I see you watched our movie without me.” 

“The kid’s practically a mini you, so does it really count?” As Tony argues back that  _ it absolutely counts, don’t start with me _ , Peter starts to shift in his sleep, his ears picking up their conversation and trying to wake him. Rhodey waves a hand at Tony to stop his words, as he shifts to the side and does his best to pick Peter up without the teenager waking up. He mainly succeeds, Peter’s eyes only cracking open as Rhodey fumbles with the teen’s bedroom door handle. 

“Thanks for watching the movie with me, Rhodey. I’m sorry I kept you awake.” Of course the kid is apologizing.  _ When doesn’t he? _ Rhodey shakes his head as he says, “Don’t worry about it kiddo. Get some sleep, let your body heal.” 

As he walks out, he hears the boy yawn, and then his tired voice say, “Night Uncle Rhodey.” As Rhodey turns in surprise, knowing the kid has  _ never _ called him that before, he sees Peter already fast asleep. He smiles and lets himself out of Peter’s room and closes the door as quietly as he can. He walks into the kitchen, and right in front of Tony, says, “Hey FRIDAY, you know that file Pepper had you make of all the sweet things Peter says? Go ahead and add what just happened. I want her to see it once she’s off work.” 

  
“Of course, Colonel Rhodes. I will notify her after her final meeting of the day.” FRIDAY tells him, and he smiles, knowing Pepper will come back upstairs and go to Peter’s room hoping for a title of her own.  _ Well, _ Rhodey thinks, knowing Tony and Pepper weren’t an Aunt and Uncle to the kid, but more like parents,  _ if she wants a title, she’ll have to wait a couple weeks. Mother’s day isn’t for a few more Saturdays. _ Now he has to wait for Tony to find out and grill the kid for still calling him “Mr. Stark” _. _ He stalks out of the kitchen, ignoring Tony asking what just happened.  __ He smiles again, happy in the knowledge that Peter’s family, that shrunk and shrunk without a care in the world, is expanding now, and Rhodey’s so glad he can be a part of it. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again! Thank you SO MUCH to everyone who left kudos after I posted chapter 2. I woke up one morning and had an email saying I had received 6 more in the night!! Wow!! Thanks so much! 
> 
> So I already have a bunch of ideas for this, but if you have any suggestions, PLEASE leave them in the comments! Any other feedback is greatly appreciated as well! 
> 
> Comments and kudos are what keep me motivated. Also just writing fluff in general, but the comments and kudos make it go faster. Hope you enjoyed! :)))


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